Some recipes I spend a lot of time on. Some recipes I throw together with whatever sounds good at the moment (or whatever is about to go bad in the fridge). Sometimes, that second kind of recipe yields a winner. And, when the kiddo says, “You have to make this again!” I know it’s time to write down what I did, snap a quick photo, and post it to the blog – even if it’s just so I can make it again another day. Those recipes? Those I’m calling Quick Bites.

So, here’s the first of what I hope to be many Quick Bite recipes. Beware – approximations and “to taste” are the standard with these. But, perhaps they’ll whet your appetite and inspire you to make your own quick bite meals.

Tonight’s offering owes everything to 2 organic sweet potatoes threatening to sprout on the kitchen counter, and a raging desire for anything that tastes light and fresh in the midst of this cold, dark winter.

Sweet Potato and Basil Soup

1 T. (eyeball it) olive oil
1 small yellow or sweet onion, diced
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 medium-small sweet potatoes, diced
3 cups water
salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 t. salt, a few good grinds of fresh pepper)
basil (I have frozen summer basil, which means it’s been blanched and chopped and in that form it amounted to about 2 T. Fresh from the package I’d say 1/4 chopped. Again – to taste.)
juice of 1 lime

In a 2 quart sauce pan, heat the olive oil over low-medium heat. Add the onions and cook slowly until caramelized – about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and toss for 30 seconds. Add the water, sweet potatoes and salt and pepper. Turn the heat up to high and cook until the sweet potatoes are falling apart tender. Remove from heat and blend with an immersion blender. Stir in the basil and lime. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

I served this topped with some steamed broccoli, and a slice (or three) of The Daily Dietribe’ssoon-to-be-published gluten-free, vegan French bread. She sent the recipe to me today for some testing. And, oh boy, you are going to want to make this. You can see the heel of the loaf in the picture above, and here’s a shot of the loaf itself. Is that gorgeous, or what? (Not the photography – the bread. Ignore that big ol’ shadow, k?)

Daily Dietribe’s Gluten-Free Vegan French Bread

Want more great healthy recipes? Check out Wellness Weekends. You can also find more recipes with 5 ingredients (the olive oil, salt & pepper, and water don’t count) or less and 5 ingredient Mondays.

6 Responses to Quick Bite: Sweet Potato Basil Soup

I love recipes like this. I rarely follow recipes exactly anyway so approximations are perfect for me. And I imagine the addition of lime would take this from good to spectacular. Lime just gives soup that extra oomph!

Great idea! And that bread looks so good. I have yet to find a gluten-free bread recipe I really like, even after 30 years of eating gf. (Although I found a commercial brand made in Nelson B.C. that is great. I think the baker uses sugar beet fiber as a binder. We just can’t get it fresh here.)

I love the concept of quick bites. So often the things we throw together spontaneously are the biggest hits here. The pairing of sweet potatoes and basil is one I wouldn’t have thought to try but it sounds delicious. And the bread. Oh the bread! I’ll be stalking Iris’ site until it’s up!

Yep, the quick bites idea goes along with my no rules idea. Normally I wouldn’t post with precise measurements. But I rarely cook that way so it always means making the recipe again and measuring. But I figure there are lots of other cooks out there that do just what I do – throw it together, taste, adjust. Why not share?